Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Saints: Saint Apollinaris, Bishop, Martyr (late 2nd century); Saint Elijah, Father of the Carmelites (1-2 Kings, Prophet)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 41 The Times for the Brothers' Meals

Mass: Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10; Resp Ps 71; Mt 13:1-9

I will sing of your salvation.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

PRAY FOR US.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.

(Jeremiah 1:5)

Welcome to Wednesday, a day of scattered musings. 

First, the words of the Lord above that came to the Prophet Jeremiah are some of the most comforting. 

Second, and not entirely unrelated, it is worth it to read the second reading in today's Office of Readings (Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time, Wednesday). It comes from the Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis. It begins in this way:

Turn to the Lord with your whole heart and leave behind this wretched world. Then your soul shall find rest. For the Kingdom of God is the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit. If you prepare within your heart a fitting dwelling place, Christ will come to you and console you.

Lastly, making my way through the lvii +729 pages of a book, I read this yesterday afternoon, a quotation fitting for yesterday's reflection, and for every day. 

Truly it is a great consolation for Christians to know that we are so united ... Where there is faith, there is no distance in time or space, no parents, no children; only one thing exists, and that is God, and there we shall all end up sooner or later.

(Rafael Arnaiz in a 1934 letter to his father, in Saint Rafael Arnaiz: The Collected Works, p. 100)

SAINT APOLLINARIS,

SAINT ELIJAH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: This one is to honor Saint Elijah, Father of the Carmelites, who, as we learned last Saturday on the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, "defended Israel's pure faith in the living God" at Mount Carmel (see 1 Kings 18:16-46). Mount Carmel is also where the first Carmelites gathered. Today's photo isn't of Mount Carmel; it is snow-capped and magnificent Mount Rainier, at Shriner Peak, Mount Ranier National Park. It comes from Maddy and Becca on the Sunshine Nature Trail. This dear and faithful family - lovers of nature, lovers of camping and hiking, have this to say about the mountain: "As you know, we love this mountain and the meadows and forests all around it." I was gifted with the honor of spending a weekend with the family at Mount Rainier National Park, in 2017. Mountains and hills, bless the Lord. Thank you.

© Gertrude Feick 2022